Learning to create objects such as coins and
jewelry gave Johann an idea. He remembered
how bookbinders used small brass punches to
stamp letters onto the leather covers of manu-
script books. Maybe he could use that technique
to find a faster way to make books. Such an in-
vention would give the world more books. some-
thing Johann had been dreaming about ever
since he had learned how to read. It could also
bring him a lot of money. Johann decided to find
a way to make his idea work.

His idea was to make separate metal letters
and arrange them into words. By setting up a
whole page this way, he could print as many cop-
ies of a page as he wanted. Johann began to
experiment. First he tried to sand-cast metal let-
ters, the way he sand-cast jewelry.